The Chicago Bearshavebeen waiting for a franchise quarterback for a long time, and many fans believe they might finally found one in 2021 NFL Draft 11th pick Justin Fields, but obviously in the long term. For now, 33-year-old Andy Dalton would be at the helm.
When the Bears signed the former Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys QB in the free agency, you could feelthe disappointment in Chicago’s fanbase. Following Mitchel Trubitsky‘s departure, they were hyped with all the Russell Wilson rumors.
But Bears head coach Matt Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace seem to have all their trust in Dalton, who also seems encouraged for this season. With less than a month for the regular season kick-off, he has shown plenty of confidence in himself.
Chicago Bears QB Andy Dalton: “This is my time”
The Chicago Bears fans went wild when Justin Fields became available for their eleventh-overall pick and have finally felt some sense of hope with a potentialfranchise quarterback.
In the meantime, they’ve made clear how much they support him. But he might have to wait to be the starter, as Andy Dalton looks set to be behindcenter in Week 1 vs. Los Angeles Rams.
The Red Riflefaced the media on Wednesday following training camp practice and was asked about how he handled all the hype around Fields. “You can’t focus on that, if you focus on that it’s gonna beat you down,” he said. “I know who I am, I know who I was created to be, I know where my identity lies. Do I want the fans behind me and this team and all that kind of stuff? Yes. Do Iwant them behind Justin? Absolutely Ido.
“But that’s not my focus, I can’t focus on all of that right now. Like I said before, Justin’sgonna have his time and Justin’s gonna have a great career, but right now it’s my time. So my focus is on being the best player Ican be for this team and do everything I can to help this team win.”
Ever since he joined the Bears a few months ago, Dalton showedplenty ofconfidence in his talent and ability to be the starting quarterback for Chicago. There might be countless reasons to be excitedabout Justin Fields’ future, but Andy Dalton wants to prove his worth first.